June 3, 1967

The first Tuesday Timeline of June 2014 is sure to bring some sweet, sweet music to your ears.  Seriously, I was having a bit of trouble selecting a topic for this week, so I went into the archives of Oldies Music Trivia to make my selection.  And after I talk about the song a bit, I'll explain the reason why I opted to choose said song.  Believe me, I think that you'll love it.

So, welcome to the third of June.

(And, yes.  Corey Hart actually wrote a song called "Third of June" back in the mid-1990s.  No, he's not the subject of today's Tuesday Timeline.  I just found it funny that there's a song for today!)

But here's a list of some of the other events that took place today throughout history!

1608 - Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec

1781 - Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton

1864 - The Battle of Cold Harbor takes place during the American Civil War

1888 - Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat" is first published in the San Francisco Examiner

1889 - The transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway is completed

1916 - The National Defense Act is signed into law in the United States

1925 - Actor Tony Curtis (d. 2010) is born in New York City

1926 - American poet Allen Ginsberg (d. 1997) is born in New Jersey

1937 - The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson

1940 - During World War I, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris, France

1942 - Singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield (d. 1999) is born in Chicago

1962 - 130 people are killed in a plane crash in Paris, France when an Air France Boeing 707 overruns the runway causing the craft to explode

1968 - Valerie Solanas launches an assassination attempt against Andy Warhol, shooting him three times

1979 - The second worst oil spill in the world takes place in the Gulf of Mexico after an oil well blows out, releasing three million barrels of oil into the water

1984 - Operation Blue Star is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Shahib

1989 - The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square

1991 - The eruption of Mount Unzen in Kyushu, Japan kills 43 people

2009 - Actor David Carradine dies of asphyxiation at the age of 72

2010 - Actress Rue McClanahan passes away of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 76

2011 - Controversial doctor Jack Kevorkian dies at the age of 83

And, would you like to know who is celebrating a birthday today?  Here's the list...Chuck Barris, Irma P. Hall, Jim Gentile, Loretta Long, John Derbyshire, Eddie Holman, Tristan Rogers, John Rothman, Melissa Mathison, Suzi Quatro, Deniece Williams, Jill Biden, Dan Hill, Suzie Plakson, Susannah Constantine, Anderson Cooper, Saffron (Republica), Arianne Zucker, Dan Ewing, Lalaine, and Michelle Keegan.

Okay, so obviously as I said before, today's Tuesday Timeline has something to do with music.  In fact, I could have used this song as a Sunday Jukebox entry given that it was a #1 hit this week exactly forty-seven years ago.

Which if you figure the math out makes today's date June 3, 1967.

Interestingly enough, the song that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 was inspired by a previous hit, if you can believe it.  The first version was released in the summer of 1965 by singer Otis Redding (clicking on THIS LINK will let you hear the original version), and the lyrics told a different story than the version that ultimately hit the top of the charts two years later.  We'll get to that meaning in a little while.

But first, why don't we play the song that DID hit the top of the charts exactly 47 years ago today? 

ARTIST:  Aretha Franklin
SONG:  Respect
ALBUM:  I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You

DATE RELEASED:  April 29, 1967

PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 2 weeks

Yes.  Aretha Franklin took Otis Redding's song, revamped it for her own album, and she walked away with the #1 hit. 

So, what makes Otis' version different from Aretha's version?  Well, aside from the fact that Aretha's version sounds more upbeat than Otis Redding's interpretation...

Well, it's all in the lyrics.

In Otis' version, the song from the perspective of a man who works hard and looks forward to enjoying a relaxing night at home where he finally receives respect from his loved ones.  And, here's a fun fact.  The song was inspired after a fit of complaining on the part of Redding while he was on tour, and someone else went up to Redding and told him "What are you griping about?  You're on the road all the time.  All you can look for is a little respect when you come home."

Simple enough, I suppose.

But, when Aretha Franklin debuted her version in 1967, she changed things up a lot from Otis' version.  And, her changes made the song an anthem of sorts for the growing feminist movement.  It's also a great song that deals with giving respect to your fellow man/woman.  We'll be talking about that a little bit later in the Timeline entry.

So, Aretha's version was actually recorded on Valentine's Day, 1967, and comparing the two versions, there's a lot of obvious differences between the two.  For one, Otis' version doesn't have that catchy "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me" line in it.  Nor does Otis Redding tell you to "sock it to him" at any point during his version.

But in Aretha's song, the lyrics take on a whole new meaning.  In Aretha's version, she wants the world to know that she is declaring herself to be a strong and resilient woman who is confident that she has everything that her man wants from her.  She is singing as a woman who has never had to suffer from low self-esteem, and has a firm sense of knowing who she really is.  Given the time period in which this song was released, that was almost considered to be a rarity.  Back in the 1960s, women were still considered to be the "weaker sex", and yet here was Aretha, proudly singing that she is confident enough in herself to demand that he respect her. 

As I said, it was definitely a song that lead the charge towards the feminist movement and eventually paved the way for equality amongst both sexes.

And, it certainly helped get Aretha Franklin a #1 hit on June 3, 1967.

But since I've brought up the topic of respect in this blog entry, I kind of want to expand on that topic.  I definitely believe that respect is one thing in the world that has to be earned.  And, I am a firm believer in mutual respect.  To me, respect cannot be a one-sided thing.  It would be incredibly ridiculous to give somebody your undying respect when they hate your guts and do everything in their power to hurt you.  I guess one example of this would be an abusive relationship in which a man or a woman stays in a relationship in which their spouse bullies them, belittles them, or beats them up on a daily basis because they are told that they will never find anybody else who will treat them the same way.  Given that situation, I hope they don't.  I hope they find someone who will respect them enough to treat them the way they deserve to be treated.

I also think that you can respect someone without actually liking them.  I mean, I'll be honest with all of you.  Some people really tick me off.  And, there are some people who I probably wouldn't invite over to my place for a spot of tea, or fresh baked cookies, or a game of Mario Kart 8.  But, that's okay.  People have different personalities, and people can sometimes have personality clashes because they rub each other the wrong way.  But you can still treat them with respect in most cases.  Giving them the silent treatment.  Not cool.  Spreading rumours about them in the employee lounge.  Not cool.  Throwing lawn darts at them whenever you get the chance.  DEFINITELY not cool.

And, I think we're all guilty of forgetting to mind our P's and Q's at some times in our lives.  Heaven knows I've made quite a few mistakes in conflict resolution over the years.  But learning from them, accepting that sometimes you can be in the wrong, and offering sincere apologies can really help in rebuilding that bridge of respect. 

And, well, maybe nothing you do will ever get someone to like you.  In which case, you wipe the dust off, and spend time with people who do.  Seriously, why would you waste time trying to impress people who want to hurt you when there are other people who will be your friend, and teach you the real value of the word respect.

Just think about that for a second.  I'll be having more of a lengthy discussion about it tomorrow.  So, stay tuned.